This article was written by Stephanie Vavra.
While walking through Grove Hill Cemetery shortly before 8:00 a.m., on Friday morning, September 6, 2019, daughter Hillary Blevins and I noticed a vintage Army car parked beside the Veteran’s Memorial. Two men seemed to be looking at the howitzer. We hurried to greet them and hear their story. Charlie wore a New York Yankees cap. He was a photographer for the team in the 1980s.
Driver Jay, from California, and his friend are traversing the United States, as part of the Lincoln Highway Association Centennial Tour. They deployed from Washington, D. C. on Saturday, August 31, and will arrive at Lincoln Park on Wednesday, September 18, in San Francisco, CA–the terminus of U. S. Route 30. Their journey is over 3000 miles.
This anniversary tour information is from the LHA. Jay and Charlie will “[r]etrace the route taken by the U. S. Army convoy during the summer of 1919, including the feeder route from Washington, D. C. to Gettysburg, [PA,] and the alternate roads of eastern Ohio. [The tour is o]pen to all vehicles, from antique to contemporary.” Maxi The Model A is the only vintage and U. S. military vehicle on the tour.
Unlike the Military Vehicle Preservation Association Motor Transport Corps Convoy, that passed through Morrison on Thursday, August 22, these drivers “do not convoy.” Thirteen members drive at their own pace from point-to-point, which allows for spontaneous stops of interest, such as veteran memorials. The group stayed overnight in the Sterling-Rock Falls, IL, area last night.
Jay meticulously restored the 1931 Ford Model A Town Sedan, U. S. Army Air Corps Staff Car. “Maxi The Model A” was lettered on the spare wheel. Maxi is the only vintage U. S. military vehicle on the tour. Jay said the men leave an hour earlier than the other dozen tour entries. Along the way, they often are stopped by curious admirers like us.
As he exited Grove Hill Cemetery on the southwest, Jay honked at a man and small children on the Northside School corner.
Click here to see photos of the 13 members of the Lincoln Highway Association Centennial Tour. “Maxi The Model A” is displayed first. California residents are most represented, with five drivers; Ohio has three. These states each have one participant: Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York, and Virginia. This photo of Jay’s Staff Car is from the LHA site.
